By Francis Odewale
The Managing Director of Bonghe Microfinance Bank, Mrs Grace Andreas Karka, has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by Justice Benjamin Lawan Manji of the Adamawa State High Court, Yola, after being found guilty of ₦32 million fraud.
Karka was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on two counts of criminal conspiracy and cheating. She was accused of diverting funds belonging to her bank without due authorisation between August 2020 and March 2021.
According to the EFCC, the convict, in connivance with one Prince Moses Batalu, dishonestly moved the sum of ₦66,792,960 from Bonghe Microfinance Bank’s account domiciled with First Bank of Nigeria without requisite approval, in violation of Section 61(2) of the Adamawa State Penal Code Law 2018.
She had pleaded not guilty when first arraigned on November 11, 2024, leading to a full-blown trial during which the prosecution, led by counsel Mubarak Tijani, presented multiple witnesses and documentary evidence to substantiate the charges.
In his judgment delivered on October 17, 2025, Justice Manji held that the EFCC had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, he convicted Karka on both counts and sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment with an option of ₦3 million fine on each count. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The court further ordered her to pay ₦29.877 million as restitution to the petitioner, representing the unrecovered balance from the fraudulent transaction.
The case began after Bonghe Microfinance Bank discovered irregular transfers during an internal audit of its account at First Bank in 2021. Investigations revealed that the transactions were unauthorised and traced to an account linked to Batalu, who was not a bank customer.
Further checks uncovered that Karka had initiated the transfers, then serving as the bank’s Managing Director, in clear violation of internal controls. The bank’s attempts to recover the missing funds reportedly failed, prompting a formal complaint to the EFCC.
Following the conviction, the EFCC said the verdict reaffirmed the judiciary’s commitment to accountability in the financial sector. The Commission noted that the case serves as a deterrent to financial managers who misuse their positions of trust for personal enrichment.
Observers say the case highlights the ongoing challenge of weak internal oversight within Nigeria’s microfinance sector, where insider fraud remains a recurring issue undermining investor and depositor confidence.
